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By: Kip Gregory

If you’re like most people, thinking about which software to run your business with raises lots of questions … What do I need? How do I decide which products are best? Where should I buy them? Here’s some advice for working through those issues.

First, forget about cutting-edge software; stick with what’s proven. Second, purchase on purpose, not on impulse. It’s tempting to buy something new, especially after you read about or hear of someone else’s success with a particular software program. But most impulse purchases never make it out of the box; they become “shelfware” that gathers dust on your bookcase. (Thirty-five percent of all software purchased lands in this category, according to one estimate.)

Whether you’re an advisor, agent, broker or financial planner, nine must-have software programs belong in your toolkit. They fall into two categories: those that improve your business and relationship management efforts (contact management, email, Web browser, word processor, presentation and spreadsheet) and those that protect you from disaster (virus protection, data -up and system recovery).

Faced with a variety of choices, how do you decide which product to buy? The best guidance: Go with a leader. Equipping yourself with widely used software improves your odds of finding people who know how to use it. These include job candidates, consultants or phone and online technical support. Another reason: independent developers have created a variety of add-on programs that enhance the software. You can find hundreds of these timesavers at sites like www.download.com.

Business and relationship management
You can acquire two-thirds of your business and relationship management tools by purchasing an office “suite.” Microsoft’s Office package (www.microsoft.com/office) includes word processing (Word), presentation (PowerPoint), email (Outlook) and spreadsheet (Excel) programs. Other packages like Lotus’ SmartSuite (www.lotus.com/smartsuite) or WordPerfect Office (www.corel.com) are also good alternatives. Deciding which one to use is often a matter of personal preference. Don’t be swayed by marketing hype; most popular programs will do what you need—you just have to learn how they work.

When it comes to Web browsers, the choice is clear: Internet Explorer from Microsoft (www.microsoft.com/windows/ie) owns more than 70 percent of the market share. Its nearest competitor, Netscape Navigator (www.netscape.com), is a distant second. Both can be downloaded free from the Internet, and each comes with an email program.

Contact (or client) management software is probably the most challenging category to decide on. Why? People are particular about what information should be captured and recorded. There are many options for managing client and prospect information, from simple spreadsheets to custom designed programs.

Contact management programs can be generic like ACT! (www.actsoftware.com) or Goldmine (www.frontrange.com), or designed specifically for financial services professionals, such as BrokersAlly (www.brokersally.com) or EZ Data (www.ez-data.com).

Again your personal preferences will play a role, but the best advice is to stick with a leader. ACT! provides the flexibility to customize database fields, create groups, send personalized mass mailings (using Word or Outlook) and more. It’s also scalable, which is jargon for you can easily increase the number of people who use it without taxing the program. What ACT! won’t do (without modification) is integrate the financial product and account data associated with individual clients and prospects. However, there are companies that have created versions of the software that are specific to financial services. Check out ACT for Advisors (www.software4advisors.com) and CyberBroker (www.maxprosystems.com) for more information.

Protection from disaster
The three types of software that protect you from disaster are virus protection, data -up and system recovery.

Symantec’s Norton AntiVirus (www.symantec.com) and McAfee AntiVirus (www.mcafee.com) are the leading virus protection programs. Virus definitions are the vaccine that prevents viruses from inflicting damage to your system. Whichever program you get, remember to keep your virus definitions up to date (using automatic updates from their website).

Roxio (www.roxio.com) manufactures system-recovery and data -up software. Go , which is system-recovery software, is invaluable when your PC software malfunctions. With it, you can “go ” or reset your PC to the configuration it had before a problem occurred. This is a huge timesaver, often a lifesaver.

EZ CD Creator lets you copy all of your files to CD-ROM, ensuring you have a -up if your PC ever fails or is stolen. Remember, you must have a CD burner to use this.

Where can you buy these products? From the vendors’ websites, at retail stores like Staples (www.staples.com) and CompUSA (www.compusa.com), and from Web catalog companies like PC Connection (www.pcconnection.com) and PC Mall (www.pcmall.com). To find out who’s offering want you need at the best price, check out MySimon (www.mysimon.com) or c|net’s Shopper.com (www.shopper.com).

Kip Gregory, principal of The Gregory Group, is a consultant, trainer and speaker on marketing, sales and technology issues for the financial services industry. He can be contacted at 202-364-6913 or by email at kip@gregory-group.com.

Kip Gregory’s series: Technology for Your Business

Curing Technophobia (January 2002)

Buying Power (February 2002)

Software Essentials (March 2002)